Machine for handling coal and other loose material in mines



3 Sheets-Sheet l M. A. EVANS Filed'ug. 26, 1931 July 11, 1933.

r MACHINE FOR HANDLING coAI. AND OTHER LoosE MATERIAL IN MINES July 11, M A' EVANS MACHINE FOR HANDLING COAL AND OTHER LOOSE MATERIAL IN MINES Filed Aug. 26, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY HIS ATTORNEYS M. A. EVANS July 11, 1913s.

MACHINE FOR HANDLING COAL AND OTHER LOOSE MATERIAL IN MINES Filed Aug;` 2e, 1951 :s sheets-Sheet 5 lvdN'roR Mer/Z7] /qeff $2.5

BY HIS ATTORNEYS Patented July 11, 1933 UNITED STATES MERRILL AL-BERT EVANS, OF WIIARTON, WEST VRGINIA 'v MACHINE non HANDLING ooAL AND .occitan Losn MATERiAniN'i/LINES Application iled. August, 1931. Serial No. 559,405.

Y The invention aims to provide a machine of simple construction which is highly efficient, is easily moved and directed under its own power, and which can be used to disinte- 5 grate the material and to convey it to a second conveying unit of any usual or suitable type.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a` diagrammatic plan View showing the beginning of the. attack on the wall of loosened coal. 'f

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the progress of removal of the coal. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing an alternative arrangement of the standard conveyers.

Fig. 4 is a plan view and Fig. 5 a sideelevation of the handling machine.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the main shaft which controls the movements of the apparatus.

Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8 of Fig. 5,

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the machine is indicated with its front-end entering a pile11 of loosened coal. The front end removes the coal by digging under it at the floor and feeding the coal backward toal portable conveyer 12 which in turn carries 30 the coal to a sectional conveyer 13 which conveys it to mine cars. Asthecoal is thus ref l moved from the wall, the machine is fed forward by means of cables attached to jacks 14, 15, or other fixed points, and taken up by motor operated drums on the machine. When the machine has thus been advanced to the end of the wall of loosened coal, it is pulled sidewise, as in Fig. 2, by fastening O one of the cables to a jack 16 in a line transverse to the length of the machine..'v As the operation continues Vthe machine progresses sidewise and continues to feed the coal to the portable conveyer 12. which is hooked to the rear end of the machine and moves laterally 45 with it.

The operation is similarin the arrangement of Fig. 3, except that the portable conveyer 12 extends along the face of the wall nl from the excavating machine to the sectional J conveyer 13, the end of the conveyer 12 being adjustable along the sectional conveyer 13 to allow for the movement of the machine along the wall of material. f f

The machinev is carried on a-flat base 17 resting onthe floor and supporting the oper- 55 ating mechanism. Beyond fthe operating mechanism is'an extension comprising a flat horizontal plate 18 which is positioned parallel with thel base of themainY frame and c slightly above thel ioor plate 17. The 60 smooth, broach sliding surface .ofthe base 17 distributes theweight of the motive'apparatus and connected parts so as to'minimize Y the digging into on breaking ofthe floor of the mine. On the sides 19 of the extension travel the series of blades 20 which are con. nected at their inner ends to an endless chain 21 traveling around rupright guides 22 carried on the plate 18-- The forwardend 23 of the extension plate is rounded or pointed (Fig. 4). The blades 20 haveflanges 24 resting on the plate 18. .The ends of the'blades project beyond the outer edges ofthe plate and are of reduced height, tapering to a point 25 (Fig. 5) which is substantially at the floor line at the front end of the machine.l This 'shape and arrangement of the blades and the frontend of the plate permit them'Y to enter the wall .of material easily and to L remove the material clear to the floor. 80

Onthe center of the plate 18 there is a cover plate 26 .with upwardly converging sides 27 forming a wall along the back of the feed side of the conveyer whichr deflectsonto the conveyer any vfalling material. The B5 plates 27 at the front end of the machine are tapered off to substantially aplowy point 28, Fig. 5, to facilitate the `entrance ofthe machine into the material. The sides 27 of the K' central portion of the conveyer extend to the backlof the machine andform part ofthe casing' around `the motor-and mechanism. y At the rear, the plate -18 has an upwardly inclined portion 2v9`which extends over. the rear end plate`30 ofthe casing and has a lip` 31 adapted tooverhang the portable conveyer 12so as to'dr'op Vthe coal into the conveyer as itv is swept over they end of the plate'bythe blades 20. The conveyer may be loosely hooked tof the `rear Aend ofthe machine by 1 coal is carried from the wall to the portable,

conveyor. In the ascending' part of the plate on whichthe coal is carried, at the rear of the machine this plate 29 is provided with an upward flange 44, Fig. 7 which prevents the pushing ofthe coal oifthe edge and guides it to the end wherefit dro-ps onto the portable conveyor. a

At the return side (Fig. 7) the chain and blades run under a ,plate 45 which supports parts of the mechanism atthis end of the machine. Y

: The shaft 39 is in continuous rotation. The sprocket wheel 38 is loose thereon and is clutched or unclutched by means of a clutch sleeve 46 on the shaft actuated by a hand lever The shaft 39 has at itslower end a 'worm 48 which drives a worm gear 49, Fig. 6, which is fixed on a shaft 50 extending across the rear end of the machine. This shaft drives the automotive device by which the machine can be forced into the wall, or across the face ofit, or can be retracted. Rope drums 5l and 52 are mounted loosely on the ends of the shaft at points beyond the side walls 53 and 54. Y c

The drum 52 has attached to it one end of a feed rope 55 by which the machine can be fed sidewise in the manner of Fig. 2. The rope passes over a pulley 56 and thence in a lateral direction to an anchor 16, as in Fig. 'orit maybe to an anchor 14 as in Fig'. l, when feeding the machine endwise into the wall. The drum carries afgear'57 driven by a pinion 58 on'a shaft 59 carrying a gear 60 which is driven by av pinion 61 loose on the shaft 50. A clutch 62 serves to clutch the pinion 61 to the shaft so as to drive the drum. The clutch is actuated by a pinion 63 on a shaft 64 actuated by a hand Wheel 65 at the rear side of the machine. The gearing for the ldrum 52 is a speed reduced train so as to advance the machine slowly sidewise against thematerial at a rate corresponding roughly with the rate of removal of vthe material.

The movement of the machine can be eXactly co-ordinated `by the operation of the hand wheel 65.v Y f The drum 5l is primarily for'handlingthe machine during its initial endwise entrance into the wall of material or during its retraction. Fastened to the drum is the end of a y cable .66, which passes forward over a guide pulley 67 thence rearward over a guide pul-A ley 68. .From this point the cablemay cX-v tend in several different directions. It may pass toward the center of the machine over a guide pulley 69 and thence over a detachable pulley 70 and ont toward the rear, as indicated atY 66a, so that when it is taken up on the drum the machine will be pulled to the rear out of operating position; or it may pass from the pulley 68 in a lateral direction, as indicated at 666, so as to swing the rear end of the machine around or to hold it steady, as in Fig. 2; or it may pass forward from -th-e pulley 68 over a detachable pulley 70 and transversely away from the machine, as at 6,60, so as to balance the pull ofthe cable 55 at the opposite side and steady the n1achine;v or it may extend forward, asY at 66d, the cablebeing at the same time extended forward, as at 55a, so as to advance the machine endwise into the wall. (See Fig.

The drum 5l is connected to thesha'ft 50 through a clutch 7l operated by a pinion 72 on a hollowsha'ft 73 which surrounds the shaft 64 and which is manipulated by a hand wheel 74 at the rear side of the machine adjacent to the hand wheel 65. Thus the operator standing behind the rear end of themachine can easily regulate thev direction and vrate of movement of the mach-ine as it 'enters Vand removal of the material take place at onetime, although these movements may be dis-simultaneous. The very flat or low feeding extremities of the blades work under the loosened material anddisintegrate it so that it continually falls ydownen the floor of the machine and is carried back to the portable conveyor. lt is particularly adapted tol min'- ing coal and ore where the conditions require simplicity, compactness, durability and facility of operation in crowded places, and where we are aptto encounter bad roof, soft bottom. necessary cleaning lat the face and thinness of seams,-conditions which` make mechanical loading difficult. The compactness ofthe machine in length` and width allows the timbering to follow up very closely the face of the wall, as isV necessary where roof conditions are poor. The continuous butrelatively slow speed with which the machine advances and loads allows the coal to be cleaned from the wall under normal conditions. Visibility, which is a big factor in Cleaning coal by hand, is well `maintained. be-

cause the actionof the machine raises very little dust. 1 i

The coal is deposited only on a narrow portion of the portable conveyer which isconnected at its rear end, so that it affords ak machine so as to provide an offset or shoul der 75, Fig. 4, which-by engaging the wall of material as in Fig. 2, facilitates the entrance of the base plate into the material. This endwise, forward movement of the machine or suniping operation ,is also facilitated by the shape of the blades with downward offsets at their ends which overlie the edge of the supportingplate which serve to break the material apart efore it falls upon the Conveyen At their inner ends each of the blades has a suliicient height to make a strong attachment to the chain. Y.

The endless chain may be reversed by releasing the automotive clutches and reversing the motor. Vhen Vthe coal has been loaded out the motor is stopped, the three vclutches released and the handling rope arranged as at 66a and fastened to a jack ata distant point. 'Ihe motor being started and the handling clutch tightened, the machine will pull itself away from the face of the wall.

Various modifications may be made by those skilled inthe art Without departing from the invention as deiined'in the following claims. v

1. In machines of the class described, an

enlongated one pieced conveyer plate having' a horizontal section and an upwardly'in'- cliiied section terminating in a downwardly extending lip section, a base frame therefor, said frame comprising a box-like casting with rounded edges having a flat bottomed base plate and` side walls adapted to receive the said conveyer plate to support the same with the horizontal section in part extending beyond the base plate at a slightly higher `horizontal level, and with the inclined section resting upon one of said walls, an endless chain mechanism centrally disposed on said conveyer plate along its longitudinal axis,v

a housing therefor forminga runway about the outer face of said plate, a plurality of gathering arms spaced upon said chain Vand adapted to travel along said runway in substantial contact with the surface thereof, each of said arms comprising a base por-V tion and a verticall i extending fin portion, the base portion extending laterally beyond the outer edge ofsaid conveyer plateand the fin portion tapering `fromits inside edge towards the ,end of the base portion and terminating with the base portion in a substantial point,'thesaid point being located approximately von the saine horizontal level as ,theV under face offsaid conveyer plate, means .disposed-.above the conveyer plate to energizesaid endless chain mechanism,

and clutch means disposedbelowthe conveyer plate toengage automotive propelling meanssaid first' means to position the mai chine with respect to material tobe gathered.

2. In machines of the classjfdescribed,fal gathering apparatus comprising a one piece conveyer plate having an elongatedv horizontal sectionv terminating in an arcuate end and an upwardlyv inclined section terminating in a downwardly extendingV lip section,

a fiat bottomed supporting fra-me therefor,

the horizontal portion of said conveyer plate being supported therein so as'to extend there- .from at a slightly higher horizontal' level than the bottom of the said supporting frame, an endless chain mechanism centrally disposed along the longitudinal axis of said conveyer plate, aV housing therefor forming f a runway about the entire outer vface of said plate, a plurality of gathering arms spaced upon said chain and adapted to travel along said runway in substantial contact with the surface thereof, said arms each vhaving a base portion extending laterally from said chain to beyond the edge of said plate, each base portion carrying a taperedvertically extendl t ing member thereon, the taperon said mem- -ber running downwardly from the section adjacent the saidhousing and terminating at e the end of the base portion substantiallyin a point, the said point being positioned at proximately the horizontal leveliof the bottom face of the conveyer plate, means disposed above said conveyer plate to operate said endless chain mechanism, and clutch means disposed below said conveyer plate to engage automotive propelling means` said first means to position the machine with respect to material to be gathering apparatus.

8; In machines of the Yclass described and claimedin claim 1, a bed frame comprising a one piece boxv shaped casting having a bottom plate adapted to rest upon a mine floor,

gathered by the said the upright -side sections thereof being molded to support a conveyer plate positioned thereon, the edges of said bed kframe beingv l substantially rounded. A-

t. 'In machines of the class described 'and claimed in claim l, a one piece conveyer plate, said plate `having an elongated horizontal Y section terminating in an arcuate end and an upwardly inclined rear section .terminating Y in a downwardly disposed lip section.

5.. In machines of the class described and claimed in claim l, a one piece conveyer plate,

said plate having'an elongated horizontal sec; tion terminating 1n an arcuate endf and an upwardly inclined rear section terminating.'

in a. downwardly disposed lip section, said inclined section carrying a'vertical extension along one edge thereof;

6; In machines of the class described and claimed inA claim l, a' onerpiece conveyer plate',

said plate having an elongated horizontall alley way intermediate saidJ vertical? extension and the base of the plate, said alley Way communicating.' with the' said downwardly disposed lip sectionA and extending part way Y about the periphery of' the opposite edge of said inclined section and being' adapted. to

receive the downwardly turned point ends et gathering arms ofV an-endlessbeltconveyer longitudinally plate. i

In Witness'whereof I have hereunto signed` inynarne.v

MERRILL ALBERT EVANS.

positioned on said' conveyer` p ioo 

